Study package on battery technology and the circular economy

The project was a part of the study module Circular economy teaching for all levels of education that was implemented between 2017 and 2019. Sitra’s vision was that all graduates should understand what the circular economy means for their work and everyday lives and what kinds of decisions and actions they can take to promote the circular economy. The aim was to increase circular economy expertise in Finland by extensive development of circular economy teaching, materials, concepts and co-operation that examine the matters from various perspectives for all levels of education. More than 50 educational institutions, teaching organisations and companies participated in the study module.

What was achieved?

The project developed a 35-credit study module aimed at higher education institutions for teaching the topics of resource-efficient battery engineering, battery applications and the circular economy. Visiting lecturers from industry and other higher education institutions gave speeches on the courses. As exercises, the students solved genuine working life projects.

The battery courses attracted a great deal of interest among students. During the project period, a total of 225 students joined the course, and about half of them completed the full course.

Who participated?

Sitra funded the project, and the project managers at Sitra were Riitta Silvennoinen and Nani Pajunen. The key implementor of the project was Vaasa University of Applied Sciences, and the co-implementers were the University of Vaasa, Yrkeshögskola Novia and the University of Oulu. The higher education institutions planned and implemented the course package together with industry experts.

What next?

The courses will continue in the academic year 2019-2020. In the future, the courses in the study module will be available to students from the participating higher education institutions and JOO students.

people

Nani Pajunen

Senior Lead, Sustainability solutions